US-led coalition says complying with new Iraq flight limits

The
US-led coalition bombing jihadist targets in Iraq said Friday it was complying
with a recent order by the Iraqi prime minister to halt any flights without his
explicit approval.

A
statement from the coalition said it had "immediately complied with all
directions received from our Iraqi partners as they implemented the Prime
Minister's order".

Prime
Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi on Thursday said he was cancelling "special
approvals" for aircraft operating in Iraqi airspace, which since 2014 have
included coalition aircraft bombing the ISIS group.

"The
authorizations will come exclusively from the head of the armed forces,"
his office said.

The
decision would apply to reconnaissance operations, fighter jets, helicopters
and drones, and include "all Iraqi and non-Iraqi entities". It did
not specifically mention flights operated by the coalition.

Any
aircraft flying without the proper approvals "will be considered hostile
aircraft and will be immediately handled by our air defenses", according
to Abd al-Mahdi's instructions.

The
coalition said Friday that its senior leaders had met with Iraqi defense
officials to implement the decision and insisted it was operating "in Iraq
at the request, and under the protection, of the Government of Iraq".

It
came days after a mysterious explosion at an arms depot at the Saqr military
camp south of Baghdad, which sent missiles stored there flying into neighboring
areas, wounding 29 people.

Abd
al-Mahdi's ordered an investigation into the incident to be submitted within a
week and said all military bases and arms depots were to be moved outside Iraqi
cities.

Following
the US-led invasion that overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003, US troop numbers
peaked at some 170,000 before a full withdrawal was completed in 2011.

Troops
returned to Iraq in 2014 as part of an international coalition set up to fight
the ISIS group after it swept through much of the north and west, and several
thousand are still thought to be based in Iraq.

The
coalition was still carrying out rare air strikes against ISIS sleeper cells as
of last month.